UFC President Dana White recently stated that Cheick Kongo has turned down two fights recently, but the fighter is open to taking on Stefan Struve at UFC 156 in Las Vegas.
The two fighters were asked on Twitter about a potential bout from a fan and both fighters said they would be down for the fight.
I’m in! Great Fight for sure, let’s see if they got a spot left for us then! @kongo4real @danawhite @lorenzofertitta @ufc
— Stefan Struve (@StefanStruve) November 20, 2012
Struve (25-5) is currently on a four fight winning streak and is coming off a knockout victory over Stipe Miocic in the main event of UFC on FUEL TV 5. All four of his wins during his recent winning streak have come by stoppage and he has won a fight night bonus in three of the four fights. He was briefly linked to potentially taking on Antonio “Bigfoot” Silva, but he was booked to face Overeem on the UFC 156 card.
Kongo (17-8-2) has won three of his last four fights and has been in the UFC since 2006, with a UFC record of 10-6-1. His last fight took place at UFC 149 against Shawn Jordan, which he won by decision. Following the fight, White criticized the fight because of the lack of action. After UFC 154, White told the attending media that Kongo has turned down to fights recently, which the fighter responded by saying he only turns down fights on short notice.
UFC 156 takes place on February 2nd from the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas and will be headlined by Jose Aldo defending the UFC featherweight title against Frankie Edgar.